At the end of July the waiting will come to an end and, after 1908 and 1948, London will for the third time host the Olympic Games, the world's biggest sporting event. With an event of this size the challenge is not just to provide the necessary infrastructure, but also to ensure its effective use after the Games have come to an end. In our article on 'Olympic Landscapes' we take a look at the landscape project for the Olympic and Paralympic Village, which has been inspired by the principle of sustainable urban planning. A different approach to sustainability is practised by the residents of a former industrial site in a western district of Zurich who are experimenting with new forms of living and working. You will find more details in our article on 'Living in an Open Floor Plan'. To match these topics we have put together some inspiring samples of search results, covering benches for public space and room divider systems. In addition we visited Design Miami/Basel on your behalf and are making our impressions available in a series of photos.

Among and around the buildings that will house hockey players and hurdlers, cyclists and swimmers throughout the duration of this summer’s Olympic Games in London are public spaces that strive to meet the exacting Olympic standards of excellence and performance, but which have a much more longterm goal. Architonic speaks to Vogt Landscape Limited, the architects behind a public realm project that has been a challenge of speed and endurance, but that they hope is fit for both Olympians and for generations of future inhabitants.

At a former industrial site in the West of Zurich, young people show the potential of an open floor plan, how to build sustainably using recycled materials, how to be resource conscious, and demonstrate that food from Aldi – a discounter – can well be in line with an ecological and anti-consumption attitude.

Searching for architects and interior designers with a passion for lighting: CREA AWARDS

Do you or your studio team have an interior design project in progress, an existing building/installation or maybe a brilliant design idea on the way?

Then you are the perfect candidate for the CREA AWARDS by Vibia, in cooperation with Architonic, an ideas competition to discover the potential of Vibia’s new modular lighting collections applied to your architecture and interior design projects.
The challenge: create a new lighting installation for your project (simulation)
The request: let your creativity flow and produce photo collages and renders of this lighting configuration, plus a short text describing the conceptual idea behind the project and the integration of Vibia products.

The tools: Import the selected space (cad / .dxf) and create your product configuration using the CREA tool (available at www.vibia.com). Afterwards you’ll be able to export it on 3D / obj / dxf formats to finalise the high resolution render in your usual software (Autocad, 3D studio Max, Sketch up, Rhinoceros, etc.)
What if: Never worked with Vibia products before? It doesn’t matter. The CREA AWARDS will give you the chance to explore all the possibilities of Vibia’s lighting fixtures and tools. And, if you have, then you know what we are capable of in terms of light and design for contract and home spaces.
The good news: 40,000€ will be awarded in prizes to the three winning projects selected by the jury.
Don’t miss your chance to promote your work. Remember the submission deadline for projects is July 10th. Why wait? Send it today!

As was the case in previous years, the seventh Design Miami/Basel once more set a new visitor record. Among other features this year's exhibition for the first time presented Moscow's 'Heritage Gallery', displaying objects from the 1960s in the Soviet Union. Another highlight was the exhibition featuring 'Jousse Entreprise', which presented objects created by Roger Tallon. Even 30 years ago its founder Philippe Jousse contributed to the growing recognition for designers such as Jean Prouvé and Charlotte Perriand. We were present at the opening of the design fair in Basle and present our impressions in a photo gallery.

Reinventing Emergency Lighting; Integrated in all architectonical scenes and Friendly with our environment

Our main objectives when facing an emergency lighting project are to achieve the maximum integration into any architectural environment and provide the installation of functional and operational excellence. These new families have been developed based on LED technology, high quality materials and Optoelectronic new developments that allow us make the most of all the light generated.